California Jury Awards Catholic School $1.1M In RLUIPA Case

In San Diego, California last Friday, a federal court jury awarded damages in excess of $1.1 million to a Catholic school that was denied permits by the city to build a new science classroom building and parking structure. According to the San Diego Union Tribune, the decision came in a lawsuit filed under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act against the city by the Academy of Our Lady of Peace after City Council overruled its Planning Commission's approval of the project.  The jury found that the city's actions imposed a substantial burden on the school's religious exercise. The court will hear arguments next month on whether it should also order the city to now issue the permits. The jury trial came after, in an earlier decision (see prior posting), the court refused to grant summary judgment to plaintiffs. [Thanks to Daniel Dalton for the lead.]